Homeschool Nations - Alberta, Canada - Homeschool Blogger

Happy Thanksgiving

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:43:00 -0500

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is upon us, a time of reflection of the things we are thankful for. This year the kids and I made a thanksgiving bulletin board and each day we wrote something we were thankful for and added it to our display. The kids comments ranged from the typical kid stuff of being thankful for thier family, friends and toys, but my daughter's (9) list was things like "I am thankful that God gave his Son to die for me" and my Son (5) said "I am thankful that God is my help and my shield". I guess it is safe to say they are not as consumed with material things as I thought, and I am doing something right in their spiritual instruction.

For myself, my blessings this year have been great. The biggest thing I have to be thankful for of course is the opportunity I have to homeschool my children. I do not know that if I lived in a different province that did not have the support that we do (with facilitators to answer questions, funding for books etc) here in Alberta, that I would be able to homeschool my kids. We are so blessed to have the freedoms that we do and that the Alberta gov't supports our choice as parents to give our children the best education possible. When ever we face an election I worry about those rights and what changes may be in store if the powers that be decide homeschooling is no longer an option. Until such a change is made I will remain thankful with each day that I can homeschool my kids, and watch them blossom right before my eyes.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, drive safe and see you next week.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 17:49:00 -0500

Here is a recipe for the best smelling playdough I have ever made for my children. It is a perfect addition for the month of October with both Thanksgiving and Halloween.

5 1/2 Cups Flour
2 Cups Salt
8 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 entire container of pumpkin pie spice (1 1/2 oz)
3/4 Cup oil
4 Cups water
orange food colouring (2 parts red, 1 part yellow) [I used wilton decorating paste for cakes in the colour copper]

Mix all ingredients together and cook over medium heat until lumps disappear. Knead on a flour covered surface until smooth and no longer sticky (adding flour as needed).

This makes a HUGE batch, perfect to last the whole month even as you sweep away little bits at the end of the day.

Rockets

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:46:00 -0500

I had the brilliant idea today that to "launch" our study of Apologia's Elementary Astronomy curric, that I would build and launch a rocketship. Once it was assembled I strapped baby in the stroller and took all 4 kids out into the field behind our house to launch it. I set it out, got the remote detonator attached, the kids covered their ears in anticipation. And the count down began 5...4...3....2...1...nothing! THat's right, the dang thing did not take off, there it sat mocking me. I spent another 30 minutes trying to make it work. NO luck. I guess this proves you do not need to be a rocket scientist to homeschool your children.

Homeschooling in Alberta ~ A how-to get started guide

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:12:00 -0500

With the start of school quickly approaching you may have decided that homeschooling is the best choice for your child(ren) but have no idea what to do with that decision. I am here to help fill in the blanks. Homeschooling in Alberta is completely legal, and the number of children homeschooling is increasing.

How to Register

In Alberta a child between the ages of 6 and 16 must be registered with a participating school board. There are several to chose from, each with it's own focus and philosophy, giving you an opportunity to chose the one that best fits your family.

The participating Boards in Alberta are as follows:

Willing Non-resident Boards

These are boards that are not the student's resident board and that have agreed to supervise a home education program

Argyll Home Education Center ~ Edmonton Pulblic schools 780-465-1299 or toll free at 1-888-532-7222 website: www.argyll.epsb.ca
The Centre for Learning @ Home ~ Christ the Redeemer School Division (Catholic separate regional, Section 3), Okotoks Alberta 403-938-4119 or toll free at 1-800-659-1945 email: centreforlearning@redeemer.ab.ca website: www.centreforlearning.ca
Families Learning Together ~ Lighthouse Christian Academy, Sylvan Lake Alberta, 403-348-0723 email: k.d.snider@shaw.ca website: www.familieslearningtogether.com
Education Unlimited ~ Morinville Christian School, Tofield Alberta, 780-662-3634 or toll free at 1-877-662-3630 website: www.educationunlimited.ca
Golden Hills Home Learning , Strathmore Alberta Contact: Donna Seamans, 403-934-5179 or toll free at 1-800-320-3739 Fax 403-934-6279 email: seamans@telusplanet.net
Moore Academy Canada ~ Sylvan Meadows Adventist School, Stettler Alberta, Contact: Bernice Hafner, 403-742-0428 fax: 403-742-0441 Email: mfca@telus.net website: www.moorehomeschoolerscanada.com
Pheonix Home Education Foundation, Calgary Alberta, 403-265-7701 email: info@pheonixfoundation.ca website: http://phoenixfoundation.ca
Roots Homeschooling Program ~ Trinity Christian School, Calgary Alberta, Contact: Jennie Van Hooft, 403-287-6685 email: coordinator@roots-homeschooling.com website: www.roots-homeschooling.com
School of Hope ~ East Central Alberta Catholic Separate Schools, Vermillion Alberta, toll free 1-888-350-HOPE (4673) Contact: Irene Long email: info@schoolofhope.org website: www.schoolofhope.org
The Home Education Exchange (T.H.E.E.) ~ Newell Christian School, Sherwood Park Alberta, Contact: Bob Milligan, 780-467-5511 or toll free at 1-877-467-5510 website: www.thee.ca
Wisdom Home Schooling ~ Trinity Christian School, Derwent Alberta, Contact: Ken Noster, email:office@wisdomhomeschooling.com website: www.wisdomhomeschooling.com

Resident Boards

Boards of the district or division of which a student is a resident student

Black Gold Regional Schools ~ Extends from New Sarepta to Warburg area. Includes Beaumont, Devon, Thorsby, Calmar, & Leduc. Contact: Elsi Evans, 780-955-4526 email: elsi.evans@blackgold.ca website: www.blackgold.ab.ca
Edmonton Catholic Contact: Ralphina McLeod, Home Education Consultant, 441-6000 or 989-3008 or toll free at 1-888-441-6010 email: mcleod@ecsd.net website: www.ecsd.net
St. Albert Catholic and St. Gabriel Cyber School Division Principal: Emilie Keane 780-459-7711 email: ekeane@gsacrd.ab.ca website: www.stgabe.com
St. Albert Protestant Schools Contact: Lois Gluck 780-460-3712 email: gluckl@spschools.org website: www.spschools.org/programs/alternate_programs/main.htm
Sherwood Park Catholic ~ Elk Island Catholic Schools Contact: Chris Diachuk, 780-467-8896 email: chrisd@eics.ab.ca website: www.eics.ab.ca
Sherwood Park Public ~ Elk Island Public Schools Contact: Pirjo Vuorensola 780-464-1899 email: Pirjo.Vuorensola@ei.educ.ab.ca website: www.ei.educ.ab.ca

Online/Correspondence Programs that offer Alberta program of Studies to any learner

Students will still need to register or notify one of the boards above

Alberta Distance Learning Centre website: www.adlc.ca
St. Paul's Academy - Summer School stpaulsschool.cmregistration.com/Default.aspx

Once you have selected a School Board you need to consider how you are going to register, Traditional, Blended or Aligned aka Fully Provided

Traditional

When you choose to register traditional you are telling the government you will be 100% responsible for your child(ren)'s education. You will choose, implement and score your child(ren)'s curriculum or even if you are going to follow a curriculum at all. This option offers the parent the most flexibility, and is the only form of homeschooling the government of Alberta considers true homeschooling, however it gives you the least amount of funding per child.

You may choose to follow the Alberta Program of Studies but it is entirely up to you. Parents who choose this style do so because they want the least amount of interference from the school board, they want to have full control of their child's education. Evaluations can be done by portfolio, testing or any other method the parent sees fit.

Blended

When you choose to register blended you are telling the government that you will teach some subjects following the traditional model above, and have the government control the other subjects following the alberta program of studies. The school board you register with will assign work to be completed and submitted for those aligned subjects. As well you will have to complete standardized testing in grade 3,6 and 9 if you align in Language arts or math. Funding for this method is based on % of alignment typically 50-90% with 90% getting the highest funding and 50% getting the lowest.

Some parents chose this method for the increased funding, some chose it because of the increased support from the school board.

Aligned aka Fully Provided

When you choose to register aligned you are telling the government you would like to follow the Alberta program of studies for 100% of your child's course load. The school board you register with will provide assignments, exams, etc for your child to complete and submit for grading. The gov't does not consider this method of schooling homeschooling and considers your child a public education student. This method of enrollment recieved the highest amount of funding available.

Parents may chose this method if they want to make sure their child matriculates and receives and Alberta Education Diploma, or because they like knowing their child is learning what his/her peers are in public school.

Once you have decided the method in which you wish to register contact the board you feel suits your philosophy/needs best. They will get a registration package sent out to you. I mentioned funding in the above section. The Alberta government gives homeschooling boards funds to distribute to homeschooling families to help with the costs of curriculum, learning materials, entrance fees(for museums, etc), Tickets(to plays, symphonies etc),and extracurricular activities. The school board will set up an account for each family, you can either submit receipts for re-embursement or use purchase orders if your school board offers them to order materials for your child. Each board handles the money differently, some offer more funds than others, some have limitations on what you can use the money for so please make sure you ask your board for full information on funding. If you want to receive this funding you MUST have your child(ren) registered by September 30th. You can chose to homeschool and register after that date however you will not qualify for funding, so mark your calendars and be sre your registration forms are submitted before that date.

What happens now that I am registered?

Now that you have completed your registration process, your school board will assign a facilitator to your family. This will be your liason between the school board and yourself for the year. Your facilitator will have at least 2 meetings with your family (more if you are blended or aligned), typically at the start of the year to create your learning plan and determine your goals, and at the end of the year to see your portfolio and determine if you reached your goals. It is common for a facilitator to check in with a family mid-year via email or telephone to just see how they are doing and if they need any help reaching their goals. If you have any concerns or questions about your child's education your facilitator is there to help you find the answers. Your facilitator will help you figure out step by step what you need to reach your goals for your child(ren).

My favorite part of the entire process is the shopping, when I go out and chose the curriculum and learning materials I want to use with my children for that school year. Something about it gets me excited to start teaching my children and that enthusiam rubs off on them.

Now that your child is registered to homeschool you may now be holding your head in hands asking "What have I done? How will I ever make sure my child learns EVERYTHING they need to know?" The best part of homeschooling is knowing you don't have to teach them EVERYTHING you simply have to teach them how to love learning, and how to find the answers they want. Learning does not happen only between K and grade 12, it is a lifelong skill and choosing to teach your child at home is only the first step in creating a life long learner. So take a deep breathe, relax and snuggle with your child reading a good book, the rest will follow naturally.

One last link, for further information on homeschooling in Alberta check out www.shine-hs.invisionzone.com you will find information about this great support group, park days, Alberta homeschooling legislation etc.

Eenie, Meenie, Minnie, Moe

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:03:00 -0500

It's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about curriculum choices for the new year. Time to pour over the catalogues, and make your new plan. If you are anything like me chances are you often start to second guess your choices. While I like product A, product B looks really fun, but product C looks good too and round and round you go. I love choosing the books and products we are going to use for the coming year, but find with so many choices out there sometimes it's like playing Eenie Meenie to finally settle on one. Thank goodness for Alberta's funding for homeschoolers, without it my list would have to be even smaller and that would make things way more difficult.

If you are just starting out in your homeschooling journey and are not sure what products to buy I highly recommend Cathy Duffy's book Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. It will help you discover what your teaching style is, your child(ren)'s learning style and which products work best with those styles. This gives you a great starting point when navigating the curriculum catalogues.

For my family I think I have finally settled on the following:

For my 4th and 5th graders:

First Language Lessons for the Well trained mind
Sequential Spelling
Writing Strands level 3
Copy work from Queen Homeschool
MCP word Study
Wordly Wise
Math-U-See Gamma
Story of the world, with the Kingfisher Encyclopedia of History for outlining
Ecoutez, Parlez for French
Eschucha Y Hablemos for Spanish
Prima Latina
Sonlight Science 3 (finish this from last year)
Apologia Astronomy (Fall term)
Apologia Zoology 1 (Winter term)
Artistic Pursuits K-3 book 1
Young person's guide to the Orchestra
Our Home and native land (Canadian geography)
Various logic puzzle books

For my Kindy child:

Handwriting without tears
Explode the code books A, B & C
Jolly Phonics (after ETC)
MCP phonics books K (after Jolly phonics)
The ordinary parents guide to teaching reading
History, Science, Art, and Music he sits in with the older kids
MUS Primer

As you can tell from my choices I am a neoclassical schooler and I (loosely) follow the Well Trained Mind. If these titles sound interesting to you check out Susan Wise Bauer's book The Well Trained Mind, and her message boards www.welltrainedmind.com/forums

Sorry for the Delay

Thu, 29 May 2008 16:40:00 -0500

Oh my goodness, it's been a long time since I have posted here for you other Albertans. It's amazing how fast time flies when change is going through your home. Between illness, spiritual journeys and the like I have been MIA far too long. I while not be disappearing like that again I hope.

A quick note, The International Children's Festiva is currently going on in downtown St. Albert. It will be on until Saturday May 31, so if you haven't been down yet please make time to do so, a great time is guaranteed for all ages. We go every year and this year will be no exception. We will be attending tomorrow, hope some of you can make it too.

Other goings-on. This is the time of year for life cycle sciences. We have decided on 2 studies so far, both rather spur of the momenr, first on the agenda is Painted ladies butterflies. While at our local Education store looking for a spanish program we wanted I noticed butterfly pavillions, so we bought one and 2 caterpillars. They are very small still but growing quickly. It willbe fun to watch them metamorphosis into butterflies. The second study is frogs. A fellow homeschooler went pond dipping and caught tadpoles, she graciously shared them with my family. In conjunction with both studies we are doing lapbooks.

Now a point of interest for those in the Edmonton area. Durning the month of June the Valley Zoo, and the John Janzen Nature center are doing a frog theme. Every weekend will be a different topic, check their websites for more information. Apparently frogs are headed towards extinction, these topics will give you more information on the hows and whys and what we can do to help, as well as general information on frogs.

Also if anyone has information on where one can order a ladybug raising kit here in Canada I would really appreciate it. It appears that while these kits are readily available in the states, they can not send the larvae over the border, so I need a Canadian supplier.

Spring has Sprung...sort of

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:39:00 -0500

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Weekend. We sure did. We were blessed with tickets to see "Love According to John", I have to say for anyone who has not had a privilege of seeing this play yet mark your calendars for next Eater to buy tickets. It was so well done, the music was delightful, and overall was a beautiful production. I took my 2 oldest children and the baby(6 months old), even the baby was thrilled with it staring at the actors and jumping up and down "singing" with the songs. The weekend progressed with the usual egg hunts, dying eggs, big dinner and eating lots of chocolate, my goodness is my belly still full.

Of course last week ushered in the arrival of spring. Now I don't know about your part of Alberta but my yard still has entirely too much snow in it for my liking and knowing Alberta we are bound to have another blast of winter before the May long weekend arrives. We are making our plans for spring activities, particularly related to Science. Life cycles is always a fun unit to study when spring arrives, this years plan includes raising caterpillars/butterflies and tadpoles/frogs. I would love to do chicken eggs again like we have in the past, but the hatchery we previously used no longer rents them out. If you are aware of a location to get eggs and rent an incubator in the Edmonton area(or any area) let me know and I will post it here on the blog.

For those interested in raising Painted Lady Butterflies this year, "Butterfly,Wings and Wishes" is the company to contact. They sell kits that include the larvae, food and information to help you raise the butterflies. If your interest is in tadpoles/frogs I have not found a company yet that sells the tadpoles here in Alberta, what I have is a friend with a pond on her property to get tadpoles from then return the frogs to once grown.

Spring is also the time to start thinking about gardens and plants. Even though it is too early to start the actual planting, now is the time to plan what we want to grow, research the best growing conditions for those plants and prepare the land. Soon the Botanical gardens throughout the province will be open allowing us to enjoy the plant life around our areas. Sadly the Muttart in Edmonton has closed for renovations for the next 10 months so enjoying that will not be possible again until next year.

If you are interested in nature activities geared for Alberta, the series of books "Knee High Nature _____ in Alberta" by Dianne Hayley and Pat Wishart are wonderful. It is a 4 book series 1 for each season and outlines a wonderful selection of nature activities, finger plays and songs and information based on our particular Albertan climate. The Spring book covers pond life; Frogs,Toads & Salamanders; Ladybugs; Butterflies & Moths; Green and Growing(plants); hares & rabbits; and Spring Birds.

Some Suggestions for Spring Walks (Taken from Knee High Nature Spring in Alberta)

Mini Walk- Look for things smaller than a penny
Green Walk - Look for the first signs of green; if you give your child a green jelly bean first, the "magic" helps them see green much better
Smelling Walk - sniff various objects you find, such as mud, bark, moss, mushrooms, leaves, buds and flowers
Listening Walk - Keep track of all the different sounds you hear; try to imitate them
Bird Walk - focus on looking for birds and birds nests and listening for birds songs
What's New way - keep a note of returning birds, flowering plants, awakening animals
Clean-Up Walk - the melting snow exposes the garbage that the winds of winter have blown around - take time to clean up
I Wonder Walk - for example "I wonder how the butterfly survived the winter?"
Mini-Stop - use a hoop t circle a small area, look for tiny things that might be hiding under the lead litter

Enjoy the beautiful sunshine, and have a great time this first week of Spring. Leave me a message here if you take one of those spring walks and let me know how it went.

Conference Time

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:15:00 -0500

As spring quickly approaches we enter back into Conference time in Alberta. Personally I love homeschooling conferences, meeting so many homeschoolers, attending sessions, going over materials with all the vendors, I eagerly await the registration packages each winter knowing that the warm weather heralds new beginnings and the chance to start thinking ahead to the following year. The following conferences are fast appraoching, get you registrations in soon.

This weekend is The Western Canadian Catholic Home School Conference March 13 - 15, 2008
Providence Centre 3005 - 119 Street Edmonton, AB Further information can be found at www.wcchsc.net:80/

AHEA Conference held in Red Deer at the Westerner if a favorite of mine. Register by mail before March 14th and online before March 21 to receive early bird pricing. Information and registration to be found at aheaonline.com

Southern Alberta Homeschool Conference http://www.albertahomeschool.ca/ runs May 31/2008 in Calgary

Literacy and Learning day is a free 1 day conference Held at Nait in Edmonton on April 19/08 more information can be found at http://www.literacyday.ca/

Science Sunday in Edmonton

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:03:00 -0600

The University of Alberta is hosting Science Sunday once again this year. We have gone in the past and had an amazing time. http://easweb.eas.ualberta.ca:80/index.php?page=4&id=860

Look, Touch, dig, create and discover at Science Sunday! Join the university of Alberta museums, and discover Science through fun hands on activities. Explore the formation of trace fossils, learn how to read animal tracks, unlock the mysteries of meteorites, and so much more!

WHEN: Sunday, March 2, 2008, 12 pm -4 pm, drop in or stay for the whole afternoon.

WHERE: Earth Sciences building, Saskatchewan Drive, U of A

WHO:Kids ages 5-12, must be accompanied by an adult

COST: admission by donation

INFORMATION: Call 492-5834 or www.museums.ualberta.ca

Your new Alberta coordinator

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:25:00 -0600

Good day everyone. I am Brandy your new Alberta Coordinator for Homeschool Nations. I am currently in my 2nd year of homeschooling my 4 children and while there is a lot of ups and downs in the end it has been a huge blessing to have the opportunity and freedom to make this educational choice. Alberta has so much to offer it's homeschooling community and I look forward to sharing those "treasures", activities, events and information with you.

I would like to take this moment to ask you to please submit your local support group information here

http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/hsn/info-submit.php for inclusion on the TOS state page.
Upcoming Events to be aware of

Monday February 18th Family Day Did you know Family day was declared to recognize the values held by the pioneers who built Alberta and the values of home and family. As homeschoolers we definitely have shown how much we value our families and our time together. Celebrate the day together at one of these events

Calgary:

Family Fun Weekend #2 Blackfoot Bracelets Glenbow Museum; Morris Shumiatcher Activity Room Explore Blackfoot customs and art and gain a greater understanding of the beauty and meaning behind geometric designs. Finish off by making your own unique bracelet. February 16 & 17 from 1 - 4pm http://www.glenbow.org/

Bounce, Swing and Roll Open Gym Time Stampede City Gymnastics Club #122, 2323 - 32 Ave NE Come bounce around with us and check out our newly renovated facilities. Certified coaches will be on hand to monitor participants of all ages and there will be on-site demonstrations. Monday, February 18 from 10:30am to 3:30pm www.stampedecitygym.com

Edmonton:

Silver Skate Festival 2008 (Hawrelak Park)February 16-17 Winter festival for the whole family. Edmonton Winter Triathlon http://www.silverskatefestival.org/

Family Day at the Legislature February 18 Enjoy some quality time filled with free entertainment and fun http://www.assembly.ab.ca/

Family Festival Downtown February 18 Free and/or low cost family fun in downtown Edmonton http://www.edmontondowntown.com/

Family Day Open House (Rutherford House)February 18 Celebrate Family Day with a visit to the historic home of Alberta’s first premier http://www.tprc.alberta.ca/heritage/

John Janzen Nature Center Winter Wilds Monday February 18th 1 – 4 p.m. Shake off the frost with an afternoon event featuring music and stories about the Canadian wilds. Outdoor features will include a roaring bonfire, games, crafts and more family fun that everyone can join in on. Throughout the afternoon, take a hike or snowshoe to Fort Edmonton Park (conditions permitting), climb aboard the horse drawn sleigh ride and warm up with a cup of cocoa. Regular Admission

Other Alberta Events

Drummheller: On Monday February 18th all guests will receive Free Admission! Discover, explore, and create at the Royal Tyrrell Museum this Family Day weekend. With activities for the young and young at heart, Canada's largest dinosaur museum has something for everyone. For more information check their website http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/events/

Banff: Banff's Annual Slide & Glide Banff Recreation Centre, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.Join us for a fun filled day of activities on Family Day at the Banff Recreation Centre. All of these events are free.

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.: Parent & Kid Shinny Game on Mini Rink (full equipment required)
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Family Arts & Crafts
11 a.m. - 3 p.m.: Family Curling
11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Banff Pizza "TOONIE" Special
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.: Face Painting
12 p.m. - 4 p.m.: Family "Bow River" Skate (large ice)

More events listed in the http://www.leducrep.com/News/374519.html

Have a Great Long Weekend Everyone!